Washington–The Asian American Government Executive Network (AAGEN), working with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPIs), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has launched the Senior Executive Service (SES) Development Program.

A panel, composed of the four groups, accepted applicants last month, choosing 20 exceptional government candidates at the GS-15 equivalent level or higher for the pilot 2012 class.

The class, to be held in the nation’s capital, starts in March. It ends in February 2013. The program will include one-on-one mentoring, networking and placement assistance to help candidates obtain SES positions.

The program is in response to President Obama‘s Executive Order 13583, signed in August 2011, to establish a coordinated government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce.

AAGEN (www.aagen.org) is a non-profit organization that promotes and supports AAPI leadership in the federal government. Proudly accepting the responsibility as the lead organization, AAGEN Chair Tommy Hwang joined the Center for American Progress (CAP) in presenting the program.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are underrepresented in the federal government’s Senior Executive Service. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent only 3 percent of the SES, even though six percent of the federal workplace is Asian, AAGEN’s Hwang said.

Other speakers were U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D,CA); Assembly Member Mike Eng (D,CA); and WHIAAPI Executive Director Kiran Ahuja.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Assistant to the President and White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu also addressed the diversity and inclusion goals at the CAP program.